The deficiencies of the traditional corkscrew are well known to consumers of wine or other beverages that are marketed in corked bottles. Laceration of the cork rather than removal is a frequent occurrence. This often results in formation of a large passage through the cork that frustrates further efforts to withdraw the cork with the corkscrew. At best, use of a corkscrew requires an undesirable amount of physical effort.
These problems can be avoided by use of a pressurized fluid cork extractor. Such devices typically include a hollow needle of sufficient length that it may be penetrated through the cork, a container of pressurized gas or volatile liquid and a manually controlled valve which enables injection of fluid from the container into the bottle through the needle. Gas pressure then acts against the inner end of the cork in a manner which ejects it from the bottle.
Prior pressurized fluid cork extractors are somewhat demanding to operate as inadvertent injection of an excessive amount of pressurized fluid can result in an undesirably forcible ejection of the cork or even rupture of the bottle itself.
One prior form of cork extractor addresses this problem by providing a pressure relief valve at the gas flow passage that leads to the needle. The relief valve vents gas from the flow passage to the extent necessary to prevent the gas pressure in the bottle from rising above a predetermined upper limit. Such venting of gas to the atmosphere in order to avoid overpressures in the bottle accelerates the need for replacement of the gas charge in the extractor. If the operator occasionally or habitually holds the control valve open for a longer period than is actually necessary, a substantial portion of a given gas charge may be wasted rather than being productively utilized for its intended purpose of ejecting corks.
Replenishing the gas charge in a cork extractor involves significant costs and operational complication. It would be preferable to avoid over-pressures in the bottles without unproductively venting gas in the process.
Another problem arises in that the thin needle may be inadvertently broken during the gas injection operation. This can create a hazard as the needle and cork are no longer attached to the body of the extractor. The cork and needle or simply the needle itself may then be forcibly ejected in an uncontrolled manner by the gas pressure in the bottle. An extractor construction which inhibits such uncontrolled ejection of the cork and/or needle would be highly desirable.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.